Efficient and organized use of building space is very desirable, particularly with respect to storage or utility space in businesses, residential homes and apartments. In particular, because of the limited or tight spaces in these locations, maximizing the amount of useable space is very important. Likewise, providing ease in access and increased user convenience is important.
With respect to closet organization and the design of closet storage units, particularly for residential use, many different options are available including, for example, different sizes and shapes of shelves, different attachment and mounting members and different storage members (e.g., wire baskets, shoe-stands and tie/belt racks). Ease in accessing stored items, such as clothing, is important. Further, ease in moving stored items to make room for other items or to access items not readily accessible, is likewise important.
It is common today to use ventilated shelving (e.g., wire or plastic, and associated components) to construct storage units within closets. Typical ventilated shelving not only varies in size (e.g., different lengths and widths), and configuration (e.g., different wire mesh spacing), but may have connected thereto different storage or attachment members, including for example, a hanging shoe storage device or clothes on hangers. It is desirable for a single unit to include any such attachment or storage devices preassembled and connected thereto. In particular, and for example, having a single unit reduces installation time.
Shelving units with integrally connected storage or attachment devices are known. For example, different configurations for providing hanger rod attachments connected to wire shelving are known. However, these designs are often not user friendly, such as having the hanger rod located behind the front of the wire shelf, or attached in such a manner that makes construction difficult and/or is more likely to result in failure (e.g., attachment of hanger rod assembly to a single support member). Thus, although these shelves with integrated hanger rods provide for easier movement of items along a shelf, for example, sliding clothes on hangers, they are often difficult to access or are susceptible to failure, for example, when hanging heavier, bulky items thereon.